Learn To Play Drum Rudiments

Drum rudiments are the essentials of all drumming. They are sticking patterns designed to develop stick control, speed, and endurance. Developing stick control will increase your overall skills around the drum set drastically. That is why every drummer must practice rudiments regularly. Do no let the term rudiment scare you, most drummers can play the basic six rudiments and do not even know it. Learning how to play each drum rudiment isn't super important; however practicing your essential rudiments is. So grab a practice pad, a pair of sticks, and a metronome and get started!

Learning to Practice Drum Rudiments

Practicing rudiments the right way is more important than most think. Although any practice is good, practicing efficiently is a lot better. Like I said above, you must practice your rudiments with a metronome. Once you have the pattern down, start speeding up to work on your endurance and speed with your sticks. Practice your drum rudiments every day if you can. To avoid access noise for the neighborhood, use a practice pad. If you do not have a practice pad you can always use a pillow or any other surface really. The click track will force your to stay on time and in control.

Learn the Essential Drum Rudiments

There are 40 essential rudiments out there. That is a lot of different patterns to learn. Most of them are just different variations of each other, meaning they are pretty easy to remember. However, if time permits, you should at least learn and master the essentials. There are 6 rudiments that I try to practice regularly. The Single Stroke Roll, The Double Stroke Roll, The Triple Stroke Roll, The Single Paradiddle, and The Flam Stroke. These are six rudiments that are used the most in everyday drumming and basic beats. Here is a complete list of drum rudiments (linked to video lessons):

Whether you are a beginner drummer or an advanced one, definitely check out these rudiments. They are the essentials of drumming, and should be practiced regularly. When you develop your stick control, you will start to see the improvements on your general drumming on the drum set.

Once you have completed these lessons you can move on to other lessons and continue to learn to play drums!

Learn how to play drum rudiments with Mike Michalkow's complete Drumming System!